Briefs -- Published Oct. 7, 2012

STOCKTON - Lincoln Unified has moved its next board meeting to a larger venue to accommodate an expected crowd when the board will discuss a district proposal to institute random mandatory drug testing of its high school athletes.

By The Record

recordnet.com

By The Record

Posted Oct. 7, 2012 at 12:01 AM

By The Record

Posted Oct. 7, 2012 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

STOCKTON - Lincoln Unified has moved its next board meeting to a larger venue to accommodate an expected crowd when the board will discuss a district proposal to institute random mandatory drug testing of its high school athletes.

The 7:30 p.m. Wednesday meeting has been moved to Claudia Landeen School, 4128 Feather River Drive in Stockton.

A meeting last week at the district boardroom drew an overflow crowd. It remains to be seen whether the board will vote on the testing proposal Wednesday.

PINECREST - It will take another year to complete work to cover and stabilize radioactive waste at the former Juniper Uranium Mine, a Stanislaus National Forest official announced last week.

The abandoned open pit mine operated from 1956 to 1966 in the Stanislaus National Forest at a site off Eagle Meadow Road, about 40 miles east of Sonora and two miles west of Kennedy Meadow.

The former mine site was once used occasionally by RV campers and hunters because it provided a rare level spot to park in a remote section of the forest. But in 2003, perhaps because surface materials had been washed away, authorities found radiation at levels that exceeded federal guidelines.

Over the past two summers, work crews have been reconstructing the drainage system below the pit and compacting the mine waste back into the pit.

Originally, forest officials had hoped to complete the reclamation of the site by this fall. Now, they say they will need another construction season to install the final cover over the deposited waste.

Ultimately, the mine waste will be covered by layers of plastic, a "geotextile" fabric, and three feet of clean soil.

FRENCH CAMP - San Joaquin General Hospital was awarded a Silver Medal of Honor from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for its work to reduce the number of people waiting for an organ or tissue transplant.

Hospitals are encouraged to meet three national standards for organ and tissue donation. San Joaquin General was recognized for achieving or exceeding two of those standards. The California Transplant Donor Network that works with hospitals on organ and tissue donation in Northern California joined in the recognition for that effort.

About 10,000 people are waiting for organs in Northern California. In 2011, San Joaquin General referred 31 patients as possible donors. Eight became donors and 39 organs were recovered. Also, there were 10 tissue donors at the hospital in 2011.

Eight people potentially can be saved through a single organ donor, and that donor can improve the lives of more than 50 people through tissue donation. To register as a donor, visit ctdn.org.